There is only one choice: Westbrook

Never has a NBA player had a triple double 42 times in one season, until April 9, 2017, when Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder notched his 42nd of the season in a 50 point, 16 rebound, 10 assist night in a 106-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

Somehow this man doesn’t have the Most Valuable Player award wrapped up, at least in the media, because of the Houston Rockets’ James Harden. In fairness, Harden is having an MVP type season in a year without a guy breaking a 55-year NBA record that’s about getting 10 or more in a category that helps your team win games!

Westbrook lost fellow All-Star Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors in the offseason and has put this team on his back. The Thunder without Westbrook would probably be the worst team in the West while the Rockets would probably be floating around the eighth seed.

While the statistics between the two aren’t that far apart by the eye, the difficulty every night reaching over 10 in three categories cannot be brushed aside as only a few extra stats. Westbrook doesn’t have nearly the team around him. Remember, he’s getting most of his assists by creating off the dribble and finding the open man while Harden gets his by kicking it out to 3-point specialists who make wide open shots.

If you placed Harden on the Thunder and Westbrook on the Rockets I am telling you right now the Rockets would have more wins than they do and the Thunder would have less. Westbrook is a special player in the sense of just willing his team to victory while Harden is a guy who relies purely on athletic gifts but leaves plenty of effort on the bench.

Much like not starting in the All-Star Game, if Westbrook loses the MVP to Harden we might as well stop watching sports, because yet again it will be a factor of the media not liking an athlete off the court (or field if your Terrell Owens, unjustly kept out of the Hall of Fame), when the award is about what happens on the court. It’s a no brainer so long as all the NBA MVP voters use their brains.

USFantasy

Let’s go over some payouts from this past weekend in USFantasy.

First off, baseball is in swing and on Sunday, Rockies OF Charlie Blackmon paid $31.40 for $2 while an exacta of Blackmon and Dodgers’ Corey Seager paid $113 for $2. Saturday saw Diamondbacks P Zack Greinke pay $39 for $2, while a Cubs 3B Kris Bryant, Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado exacta paid $168.40 for $2. Seriously, Bryant and Arenado over 80-1, how did I miss that one.

At UFC 210, some nice win prices were had as Daniel Cormier defended his title successfully against Anthony Johnson as the Round 2 victory brought home $46 for $2. Other payouts: Mousasi over Weidman in Round 2, $32.40 for $2 and Oliveira over Brooks, $38.80 for $2.